Jan 08, 2020 Also demonstrated at the Mac event was Djay Pro, which lets you mix tracks, scratch, fade, control playback, sample, and much more using just the Touch Bar. You can mix a whole song using multi-touch and even alter the waveform, right on the Touch Bar. No need to touch the trackpad. Nov 18, 2016 The Touch Bar is the flagship feature for the new MacBook Pro. It’s a small touch surface that offers dynamically changing content based on the current app you’re using. The Touch bar is.
The MacBook Pro's Touch Bar is a fascinating feature that allows you to interact with your MacBook like never before. You'll be able to use it for all manner of built-in apps, but there will be a ton of third-party apps with Touch Bar support as well!
Here are the best apps with Touch Bar support so far!
Pixelmator Pro
Pixelmator is an epic photo and graphic editing program that lets you create and manipulate images, illustrations, and a whole lot more. They're best known for their robust painting tools, which are fully customizable.
With Pixelmator's Touch bar shortcuts, you can quickly switch between tools, find customizations for those tools, and more. The on-board filter preview shows you a thumbnail of what the effect looks like, right on the Touch Bar, which you can tap into to see on the full screen.
BetterTouchTool
This is not a Mac App Store app, but it's probably the best-known dedicated Touch Bar app. It's almost like IFTTT for the Touch Bar. You program in recipes, like 'Open Safari to iMore.com' or 'Open Slack to my work channel.' It works with any app you have downloaded to your MacBook Pro, whether it has its own Touch Bar support or not.
You have to side load BetterTouchTools outside of the Mac App Store because it needs to access your system settings. You can download it from Folivora.ai directly and then move it from your downloads folder into your Applications folder. You'll likely have to give permission to install it when GateKeeper pops up.
Evernote
If you have a subscription to Evernote, or only use the note-storing app on two devices (one of them being your 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar), you can take advantage of some great tools that are right at your fingertips.
You can tap the Touch Bar to create a new note, search for content in your notes, add tags, change font colors using a color slider (and a color picker), and mark up images and notes (Premium account users can also mark up PDFs). You can also use the Touch Bar to change the display style (grid, list, side bar, etc.) and sort your notes by date created, title, date updated, source URL, and size.
If you're looking forward to having easy access to your most important tools in Evernote, use it with your Touch Bar and you'll be set.
Adobe Photoshop
The biggest name in image alteration, Photoshop's Touch Bar integration was announced and demonstrated at Apple's October 2016 event.
With Touch Bar, you'll be able to alter images in ways that would normally require a bunch of mouse clicks, like changing the color balance or brightness of an image. Instead, you'll be able to slide along the Touch Bar and watch things change in real-time.
djay Pro 2
Also demonstrated at the Mac event was Djay Pro, which lets you mix tracks, scratch, fade, control playback, sample, and much more using just the Touch Bar.
You can mix a whole song using multi-touch and even alter the waveform, right on the Touch Bar. No need to touch the trackpad.
If you're an amateur DJ or just want to see what it's all about, check it out!
Final Cut Pro X
The widely used video-editing app will receive Touch Bar support, allowing you to easily scrub through your timeline, adjust audio, fine-tune your cuts, and much more, all on the Touch Bar.
Most folks are likely used to using hotkeys already and probably won't change their ways, but for people just start out with FCP, the Touch Bar offers a very accessible foray into editing.
Microsoft Office
Mac Touch Bar On Windows
The iWork suite is great, but many folks prefer Microsoft Office, so it's awesome that Microsoft has added Touch Bar support to the Office suite.
You'll be able to use brand new features in apps like Word, Powerpoint, and Excel. For example, the Touch Bar will take you into Word Focus Mode, which removes all the commands and ribbons, allowing you to better focus on your Word document.
In Powerpoint, you'll be able to manipulate graphic elements, reorder things on the fly, and more.
You'll also be able to perform all the most popular functions of Outlook right from the Touch Bar, like sending email, replying, attaching documents, and more!
1Password
1Password helps you store all of your passwords in one spot and keeps them secret, keeps them safe.
With Touch Bar supports, you'll be able to create a secure note or password at the tap of a button, and only you will be able to see your 1Password account, thanks to Touch ID! You'll even be able to create logins for many popular sites, just by tapping their logos on the Touch Bar — no browser needed.
1Password gets more secure and more convenient, thanks to Touch Bar support.
Sketch
Sketch, the vector drawing app, is for collaborating on graphic design and creating interfaces for your web pages and apps. It's not meant to be the final product. It's like a sketchbook for your ideas where you can prototype what you want something to look like before finalizing your page.
With the Touch Bar, you can switch colors and shapes on the fly, as well as many more features.
Mail Designer 365
If you often send out digital newsletters and haven't heard of Mail Designer Pro 3, then you've been missing out. Mail Designer Pro lets you create mobile-ready newsletters with all the tools you need to make yours look great. In terms of Touch Bar, Mail Designer Pro 3 currently supports:
- Text formatting (including visual styles)
- Scrubbing through design templates
- Text style, formatting and layout controls
- Adjust background color and tint, or zoom background images
- Switch between desktop & mobile layouts, pull up a smartphone preview or toggle layout guides
So if you're in for everything you could possibly need to make a kickass newsletter, from hundreds of fonts to graphics to flexible layout designs, and much more, then check out Mail Designer 365.
PCalc
Are you a scientist? Engineer? Mathematician? Calculator enthusiast? PCalc is awesome for all of the above or for folks who just want or need a feature-heavy calculator. No more TI-83 for you!
You get an optional RPN mode, multi-line display, and your choice of button layouts. If you feel like getting your hyper-nerd on, PCalc even supports hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations.
AND, you can customize what appears on the Touch Bar, so the buttons and items that you use the most are literally always at your fingertips.
Your favorites?
It's quite apparent that the Touch Bar benefits artists the most. What's your favorite third-party app with Touch Bar support?
Let us know in the comments below!
Updated July 2019: Added BetterTouchTool and Pixelmator Pro to the list.
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Touch Bar Overview
The Touch Bar is a Retina display and input device located above the keyboard on supported MacBook Pro models. Dynamic controls in the Touch Bar let people interact with content on the main screen and offer quick access to system-level and app-specific functionality based on the current context. For example, when people type text in a document, the Touch Bar could include controls for adjusting the font style and size. Or when viewing a location on a map, the Touch Bar could offer quick, one-tap access to nearby points of interest.
The following guidelines can help you provide a Touch Bar experience that people appreciate. For developer guidance, see NSTouchBar and Xcode Help.
Configuration and Customization
A Touch ID sensor to the right of the Touch Bar supports fingerprint authentication for logging into the computer and approving App Store and Apple Pay purchases. On devices that include the Touch Bar (2nd generation), a physical Esc (Escape) key appears to the left of the Touch Bar.
By default, the right side of the Touch Bar displays an expandable region called the Control Strip that includes controls for performing system-level tasks such as invoking Siri, adjusting the brightness of the main display, and changing the volume. You can place app-specific controls in the app region to the left of the Control Strip. In Touch Bar (1st generation), an Esc button or other system-provided button may appear to the left of the app region, depending on the context.
People can configure the Touch Bar to suit their needs. For example, people can remove items from, or hide the Control Strip completely, in which case only the controls in the app region and the system button remain. Alternatively, people can hide the app region to view an expanded Control Strip.
You can support additional customization within the app region by letting people add and remove items.
In general, let people customize your app’s Touch Bar experience. Provide reasonable defaults for important and commonly used functions, but let people make adjustments to support their individual working styles.
Provide alternative text labels for your Touch Bar controls.By providing alternative text for your controls in the Touch Bar, VoiceOver can audibly describe the controls, making navigation easier for people with visual impairments. (For guidance, see Accessibility.) Also create labels for any customizable Touch Bar controls that you provide so VoiceOver can describe these controls on the customization screen.
Gestures
People use a subset of the standard gestures to interact with the Touch Bar.
Tap
People tap to activate a control, like a button, or select an item, such as an emoji, a color, or a segment in a segmented control.
Disable Touch Bar Mac
Touch and Hold
A touch and hold gesture initiates a control’s secondary action. In Mail, for example, tapping the Flag button adds a flag to a message, but touching and holding the button reveals a modal view that lets people change the flag’s color.
Horizontal Swipe or Pan
People use a horizontal swipe or pan to drag an element, like a slider thumb, or navigate through content, such as a list of dates or a group of photos in a scrubber.
Multi-Touch
Although the Touch Bar supports Multi-Touch gestures — like a pinch — such gestures can be cumbersome for people to perform. In general, it’s best to use Multi-Touch gestures sparingly.
Design Fundamentals
Keep the following guidance in mind as you design your app’s Touch Bar interfaces.
Make the Touch Bar relevant to the current context on the main screen. Identify the different contexts within your app. Then, consider how you can expose varying levels of functionality based on how your app is used.
Use the Touch Bar as an extension of the keyboard and trackpad, not as a display. Although the Touch Bar is a screen, its primary function is to serve as an input device — not a secondary display. People may glance at the Touch Bar to locate or use a control, but their primary focus is the main screen. The Touch Bar shouldn’t display alerts, messages, scrolling content, static content, or anything else that distracts people from the main screen.
Strive to match the look of the physical keyboard. When possible, aim to design Touch Bar controls that resemble the size and color of keys in the physical keyboard.
Mac Touch Bar Customize
Avoid making functionality available only in the Touch Bar. Not all devices have a Touch Bar, and people can disable app controls in the Touch Bar if they choose. Always give people ways to perform tasks using the keyboard or trackpad.
In a full-screen context, consider displaying relevant controls in the Touch Bar. In full-screen mode, apps often hide onscreen controls and reveal them only when people call for them by, for example, moving the pointer to the top of the screen. If you support full screen, you can use the Touch Bar to give people persistent access to important controls without distracting them from the full-screen experience.
Prefer controls that produce immediate results. Ideally, Touch Bar controls give people quick ways to perform actions that would otherwise require extra time spent clicking controls or choosing from menus. Minimize Touch Bar controls that present additional choices, such as popovers. For guidance, see Controls and Views.
Be responsive to Touch Bar interactions. Even when your app is busy doing work or updating the main screen, respond instantly when people use a Touch Bar control.
Mac Touch Bar Apps
When possible, people should be able to start and finish a task in the Touch Bar. Avoid making people switch to the keyboard or trackpad to complete a task unless the task requires more complex interface controls than the Touch Bar provides.
Avoid using the Touch Bar for tasks associated with well-known keyboard shortcuts. The Touch Bar shouldn’t include controls for tasks such as find, select all, deselect, copy, cut, paste, undo, redo, new, save, close, print, and quit. It also shouldn’t include controls that replicate key-based navigation, such as page up and page down.
Accurately reflect the state of a control that appears in both the Touch Bar and on the main screen. For example, if a button is unavailable on the main screen, it shouldn't be available in the Touch Bar.
When responding to user interactions, avoid showing the same UI in both the Touch Bar and the main screen. For example, when people click the onscreen Emoji & Symbols button in a new message window in Mail, they expect the Character Viewer to open on the main screen, not in the Touch Bar. Unless people interact with the same control in both places, avoid distracting people by displaying redundant UI.